# puñal
## Classical Nahuatl
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish puñal, from Vulgar Latin *pūgnālis, based on Latin pūgnus (“fist”). Or a shortening of older cuchillo (“knife”) puñal, deriving from the above word and meaning as big as a fist. Compare Portuguese punhal, Catalan punyal, Italian pugnale, French poignard.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈpo.naːɬ], [ˈpu.naːɬ]

### Noun

puñal (inanimate)
* dagger
** 1555, Alonso de Molina, Aqui comienca vn vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana, f. 205r:Puñal arma vſada.lo miſmo. vel,tepuz teixiliuani.A dagger, a widely used weapon. the same, or tepuz teixiliuani.
** 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 100r. col. 1:Puñal,arma vſada. lo meſmo. vel. tepuzteixiliuani.A dagger, a widely used weapon. the same, or tepuzteixiliuani.

#### Synonyms

* tepoztēihxiliuāni

#### Derived terms

* puñaltōntli

### References

* ↑ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “puñal”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos
* Alonso de Molina (1571) Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, Editorial Porrúa, page 100r

## Galician
### Etymology

14th century. Either from puño (“wrist; fist”) +‎ -al, from Latin pugnus (“fist”), or from a Vulgar Latin *pūgnālis, pūgnāle. Compare Portuguese punhal, Spanish puñal, Catalan punyal, Italian pugnale, French poignard, Romanian pumnal.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /puˈɲal/ [puˈɲɑɫ]
* Rhymes: -al
* Hyphenation: pu‧ñal

### Noun

puñal m (plural puñais)
* poniard (a dagger with a triangular blade)
* (by extension) any dagger
** 1398, Anselomo López Carreira (ed.), Documentos do arquivo da catedral de Ourense (1289-1399), doc. 502:
    Iten huun puñal dourado que ten duas onças de prata et huuns canivetes garnidos et huun relicario con sua cadea
       Item, a gilded poniard which have two ounces of silver and some garnished knives and a reliquary with its necklace

#### Derived terms

* apuñalar

### References

* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “puñal”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “puñal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “puñal”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /puˈɲal/ [puˈɲal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: pu‧ñal

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *pūgnāle(m), based on Latin pūgnus (“fist”).

#### Adjective

puñal m or f (masculine and feminine plural puñales)
* (rare) fitting in one's hands, fist-size
* (rare) of a fight or dispute

### Etymology 2

Possibly from a derivative of Latin pugna (“fight”), with the suffix -al. Or a shortening of older cuchillo (“knife”) puñal, deriving from the above word and meaning as big as a fist. Compare Portuguese punhal, Catalan punyal, Italian pugnale, French poignard, Romanian pumnal.

#### Noun

puñal m (plural puñales)
* dagger
    Synonym: daga
* (Mexico, derogatory) a gay man; faggot
    Synonyms: maricón, puto, joto

##### Derived terms

* apuñalar
* puñalada
* puñalito
* puñalote

##### Related terms

* puño

##### Descendants

* → Classical Nahuatl: puñal, puñaltōntli

### Further reading

* “puñal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

### References

* ↑ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “puñal”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos